The controversial historian, David Starkey, has managed to unite Scotland’s political parties in outrage after he compared SNP leader and Scottish first minister Alex Salmond to Hitler.

According to the Huffington Post, Starkey provoked gasps at an event hosted by the Bow Group in a House of Commons committee room on Wednesday when he declared:

“If you think about it, Alex Salmond is a democratic Caledonian Hitler, although some would say Hitler was more democratically elected.

“[For him] the English, like the Jews, are everywhere.”

Confirming the comparison was made, Nic Conner, a member of the Bow Group Council who was at the event, said:

“Dr Starkey began by questioning the myth that Alex Salmond is one of the greatest political leaders of our time when what he has done is a trick, tapping into the idea of a common enemy, in this case the English.

“He compared this, somewhat unfortunately, to Hitler.”

It’s not the first time Starkey has courted controversy in this way, having used an appearance in 2009 on Question Time to dub Scotland “a feeble little nation”.

“This offensive nonsense is actually an insult to Scotland and to the people of Scotland.

“David Starkey is getting dafter and crankier with every passing day. His litany of offensive comments are designed only to provoke outrage and thankfully England is blessed with far better historians than him.”

“If this is the sort of trash he is going to serve up, then broadcasters in particular should make sure they don’t put him on any TV programmes from now on. He can’t be taken seriously as any sort of academic.”

“Starkey’s latest infantile comments are among the most absurd I’ve ever heard – and I’ve sat through his Question Time performances.

“Most people know that I’m no great pal of Alex Salmond, but Scotland’s national identity has always been inclusive and multicultural, and I believe that the first minister is proud of that, just as we all should be.”

It is not the first time, however, that Salmond has been compared unfavourably to some pretty vile leader leaders.

In January, the BBC received several hundred complaints after Jeremy Paxman compared the SNP leader to Robert Mugabe whilst in the same month, Glasgow South MP, Labour’s Tom Harris, was forced to stand down as the party’s “Twitter Czar” after he also posted a video on the internet making a comparison between Salmond and Hitler.

Gerard

Sorry guys – Tom Harris didn not compare Salmond to Hitler; he used a well worn clip from Downfall to parody Salmond. Only the most cynical person would see it this way. Everyone from Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron to footballers and movie stars have been parodied using this video.

What I find slightly annoying is that although the parties have come together to condemn the comments, the SNP can’t help but continue to push the myth that a slight on Salmond/SNP is a slight on Scotland and the Scottish people.

Gerard

The SNP are trying to create this narrative. If you disagree with them you are ‘anti-Scottish’; if you disgree with them on the timing of the referendum you are ‘trying to deprive the people of Scotland their say’.

No,we just disagree with the SNP.

Chick Addison

If the attacks were only aimed at A.S. you’d have a point but they are not. The attack implied that the Scots were so supine or stupid they had allowed a dictator to be set up by pseudo-democratic means (Hitler’s election more democratic). This is a slander against ordinary people by a man with previous, who referred to the whole nation as “feeble”. I once listened to the idiot explain why Mary Queen of Scots was a vile person while Elizabeth 1 was a model of womanly and political virtue. As a republican, I found both claims ridiculous. It would appear that only unalloyed admiration of all things English is acceptable in his sad little world.
The fact that he made these comments on Holocaust Remembrance Day belittled the magnitude of the real Nazi crimes against humanity and has rightly been condemned by the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities.

In recent years, I’ve seen Scotland compared to Albania, Greece, Zimbabwe,… [insert Balkan or 3rd world country of choice]. I see no reason to slander England or its people to make a case for Scotland, and I’m happy to say that most people on this site seem to live by the same rule. If you’re annoyed, fair enough, but don’t waste time making half-hearted apologies for a man I’m sure you have little in common with.

Anonymous

It’s about time the media stopped pushing this Starky bloke down our throats. It’s just another example of the lasy entertainment they use to jangle our senses enough to keep us on their product. I’ve met plenty of eople with similar takes on life down the pub and after a couple of pints some of the words almost make sense.

Anonymous

Middenface

I well remember spending the early seventies in a small industrial town in central Scotland when my dads Scottish owned company closed down the factory in England that my dad worked at and moved the production and some of the people to Scotland. At first we were treated with wonderful friendliness, then the SNP came to town and the attitude of a large minority of the people we knew changed, we kids got it worse being bullied by other kids quoting SNP rhetoric at us. I dont think Starkey is being unfair

Anonymous

Thathistorybloke

It’s very disturbing to find myself in agreement with Willie rennie, let alone Jackson Carlaw.
There is nothing wrong with Starkey being an English Nationalist, though I do remember the days long ago when he was a historian as well. Actually, he was never really all that great, he was just well-known from being on the telly a lot.